Brian “Birdman/Baby” Williams may be going through some financial difficulties now, but there was a time when he represented the height of success in the music industry. Of course, there was a time before that, when all he represented to some was another statistic waiting to happen. It’s easy to find out his rise in the rap game from a multitude of profiles and interviews, but when it came to telling his early life story, the Cash Money Records mogul took a different route: Shooting his own documentary.
The film, titled Before Anythang: The Story Behind The Cash Money Records Empire will be released exclusively via Apple Music on Friday, February 16th, and features interviews with Birdman’s family and friends, recounting tales of his beginnings in New Orleans and his years spent growing, learning, and hustling prior to founding the label that would jumpstart (and eventually stall) the careers of Mannie Fresh, Juvenile, and Lil Wayne. Billed as the “first production from Cash Money films” in a press release, the film will probably paint a much brighter picture of Birdman’s rise to fame than the real story given he’s narrating it himself, but maybe also provide some unique insights into his business dealings and personal relationships. The press release describes the film’s intent:
“This in-depth documentary explores the journey of one of the most successful rap label owners and entrepreneurs in modern music history. From the death of his mother when he was a small child to learning how to hustle at the feet of his father; from the streets of New Orleans to traveling the world, Bryan created the world he envisioned as a boy. His is the great American success story. From humble beginnings emerges the legend, this is the story of how it all began.”
Birdman is also planning to release a soundtrack to coincide with the film’s debut.
